MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/. The presentation of the Official Emblem of the 2018 FIFA World Cup was held on Russia’s TV Chanel One on Wednesday. The crew of the International Space Station (ISS) helped to present the emblem. The World Cup symbols were also demonstrated on the Bolshoi Theatre building in Moscow, Russia-2018 Organising Committee said in a release.

“To creatively capture the essence of this remarkable historic moment inspiration was drawn from both Russia’s rich artistic tradition and its history of bold achievement and innovation. Above all, Russia’s pioneering in space was a truly captivating theme,” says the release.

According to the authors of the idea, “The shape of the Official Emblem of the 2018 FIFA World Cup takes on the universally-recognisable outline of the FIFA World Cup Official Trophy, while the bold use of red, gold, black and blue in the Emblem’s colour palette was inspired by centuries-old techniques seen in world-renowned Russian art dating back to the earliest Icon paintings.”

“The Magic Ball at the top of the Emblem puts the world’s love of football into the spotlight. And the components of the Emblem taken together blend unique attributes of the FIFA World Cup and of Russia as host nation. It unites magic and dreams as the FIFA World Cup will do for millions of fans in 2018,” the release says.

The lots drawing for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches will be held in St. Petersburg on July 25, 2015 and the tournament’s mascot will be presented in 2016.

The World Cup matches will be held at 12 stadiums in 11 Russian cities - in Moscow (Luzhniki and Otkrytie-Arena stadiums), in St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Sochi and Rostov-on-Don.